


Hold Through Horses And Gunfire

by Equi_dragon1321



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M, I cant let some people die, Sex, Torture, he insists, horses and arthur are the best, im horrible at this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:33:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27169360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Equi_dragon1321/pseuds/Equi_dragon1321
Summary: Arthur Morgan knows that everything is changing, and he cant stop it. all he can do is hold on while friends die and he loses his strength every day. will the blood stained outlaw be able to pull through with the help of a lover, or will he be condemned to die?
Relationships: Abigail Roberts Marston/John Marston, Kieran Duffy/Mary-Beth Gaskill, Sadie Adler/Arthur Morgan
Kudos: 19





	1. Braithwaite manor

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! my first story, lets see if it goes good. im happy to hear feedback in the comments.
> 
> Arthur slowly descends into the grave, and needs someone to help him. he's determined to save the ones he cares for, even at the cost of his life.

Arthur shuts his journal with a thud. their had been yet another bloodbath, this time in Rhodes, and he had come back to jack missing. he hated this. more blood, and bodies upon bodies. there was no stop to it really.

Sean's dead, and even though Arthur found him to be an annoying prick, he was going to miss him being gone for good. At least it only took one shot. And Micah had _laughed_ about it. If Dutch hadn't of taken a liking to the sewage rat, then Arthur would've happily put 2 bullets through Micah. One in between the eyes, and one between the legs. Filthy bastard. Arthur could hear Dutch angrily rally up the boys, and from behind him, a soft hand landed on his shoulder. He turned around, to be met by Sadie's brown eyes. 

"Arthur, can you ask Dutch if I can come to? He needs more than my word to convince 'im, and you lot could use an extra gun." She looked hopefully at him, and he nodded. She was right, about the help and Dutch's opinion on bringing her. He didn't get it, she was a better shot than most of the men in camp. Dutch had even said it himself. They walked over to Dutch together, who was telling Kieran to saddle up the count for him. He looked over at them, raising an eyebrow questionably.

"Dutch, me and Mrs. Adler think she should come with us to go get jack. She's an excellent shot, and we could use her." Arthur stated, gesturing at Sadie, who nodded. Dutch seemed like he was internally battling himself for a moment, before sighing and staring at Sadie. 

"Alright. you two can stay together. If Mrs. Adler does good, she can come on things more often. Now, if you will excuse me." Dutch spoke, before walking over to his now-ready horse. Sadie grinned, and rushed off to get Bob ready. Arthur shook his head, chuckling at her enthusiasm while he walked over to his black shire mare, who he called Raven. She was new, but reliable. He hopped on the horses' back, and the gang rode to Braithwaite manor. 

Arthur rode hard, holding his schofield revolver in the left hand, riding in front with Dutch and Hosea. Arthur affectionally pat raven, who gave a nicker of happiness. The sun was setting, casting dark shadow through the trees. Sadie was behind him, and Arthur could hear her loading a gun. Soon, the long lane and towering stone archway came into view, and they slowed as the guards raised heir repeaters, making Arthur's trigger finger itch at the way they told the gang to "fuck off before we fill you with lead". Dutch answered calmly, before shooting one of Catherine Braithwaite's inbred sons, who was standing in the archway. All hell broke loose then, as the horses reared, and more men poured from the fields and manor house. Raven jumped up, nervous of the bullets whizzing past, until blood was thrown from her white striped face as she collapsed, making Arthur tumble down and land hard beside his dead horse. He crawled to her head, ignoring the gunfight, but it was too late for her. 

Sadness and guilt filled him, and was then overtook by rage as he got up, loaded his pump action shotgun, and fired at the Braithwaite boys. He saw from the corner of his eye that the rest of his gang had dismounted as Dutch strolled forward, revolver in hand, and led the way to the open doors of the manor. 

"Alright now listen. Bill, Javier and Lenny, stay out here and make sure no one else comes near. Micah, with me. John, Hosea, Sadie, Arthur, get in there and find jack!" Dutch yelled, and the gang sprung into action. Someone shook his arm, and Sadie and Hosea sent him sympathetic looks for losing Raven. He thanked them, and split up, yelling and kicking open doors. Arthur ran into a luxurious dining room, followed by a locked door. But a kick took care of that. He charged in and looked about, seeing nothing until a gun barrel was pressed against his head. He tried to do something, but knew he couldn't. Until, the barrel was forcefully yanked away and his attacker as slumped against the wall. Sadie stood, gun in hand, nodding at him before Dutch and Hosea called them up the stairs, followed by more gunshots. They raced up, to see men on horses running down the gravel lane from the balcony, and Arthur's two mentors pushing against a door. Arthur readied his gun, and fired at the riders, making them fall from their steeds, who scattered into the fields, trampling lone men who got in the way. That ended quickly, and soon Arthur was face to face with john as they bashed an outside door with their shoulders until it caved, and Sadie rushed in, shooting the couple men inside and letting Dutch and Hosea in. Dutch ran into the grand bedroom behind, and old ladies' screeches echoed out as he dragged Catherine Braithwaite out by her nightdress and throwing her against the doorframe. He leaned in intimidatingly, and lowly said,

"Where. Is. The boy?". She spat at him, yelling on about how we had killed her sons and took her prized horses. Even Hosea looked angry, threatening her before Dutch threw her out shot one of her many sons and dragged her sorry, crying ass down the stairs, commanding Bill and Javier to burn the place, as spouts of flames erupted through the palace-like rooms. They trooped down the stairs and out to the archway, where Catherine was chucked down. she angrily swore after Hosea asked where Jack was again, and stated,

"My sons gave him to Angelo Bronte. So my guess is St. Denis. Either that, or on the boat to Italy!" She swore again as the gang walked off. Crying as she went back into the fire, the gang left the flaming wreck behind. Arthur stopped over Ravens body, knelt down, and silently thanked her. After he got up, Sadie beckoned him over, and helped him up behind her on Bob as they left for camp.


	2. Travel buddies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after meeting with bronte, catching grave robbers and recovering jack, arthur goes on bit of a trip with a friendly face to accompany him.

Arthur exhaled as he rode into camp after getting jack from Bronte. his horse that he was currently on was a scraggly looking gelding that Arthur had took from a rude bastard that decided to confront him for his bluntness in a general store. the horse was slow and wicked, and didn't have a name since Arthur was planning to let him free after he got a _good_ horse. Arthur at least got his best saddle off of ravens corpse, thankfully free of blood and still well conditioned. he hopped off the horse and went to the centre of the camp, after Pearson's bowl of stew.

the bowl was pleasantly warm against his hands as he slowly walked around shady belle, glaring at the alligators lurking in the shit coloured waters and inspecting the ruined structures with interest. humming to himself and letting his mind wander as he shoved another spoonful in his mouth, Arthur walked around he lot of land many times before throwing the dirty bowl beside the pot. he sighed as the drifts of molly and Dutch's newest arguments reached him. those two were having a stroke of bad relationship that the gang was nearly sick of, especially Hosea. Arthur sat down in his cot and opened his journal and flicked it to a clean page before pouring his mind into the leather book for hours to come.

dusk was ascending fast over the camp as Arthur carefully closed the journal and breathed in the air deeply. he had been writing about all of the issues and problems, as well as a bit of planning for a trip he wanted to take. as far as he saw it, Dutch didn't need him for a while, Arthur was in need of a horse and some bounty hunting and animal trading seemed to be a decent way to make a bit of mUneAh. he would head out at sunrise tomorrow, but now he would pack. strawberry seemed like a good place, even after the bloodbath Micah had led him through. he heard that the elegant town had made a fine recovery.it also was filled with posters of low down criminals and the forests around were swarming with wildlife. the stables down there weren't to bad either, but Arthur really wanted to go looking for wild horses. of one in particular. he had heard good things about Arabians, but to Arthur, they were too skittish and small. he was after a dappled Missouri fox trotter. Arthur unbuckled his belt and pulled off his boots before lying down on the cot and pulling the blanket over himself.

the humid sun streaked through the shattered window and landed on Arthur's face, jolting him out of his sleep. he yawned and stretched his muscles and pulled his boots and other things on before leaving the room and heading for the gelding, tethered impatiently beside bob. Arthur gave them both a pat. he noticed that bob was ready to go, and wondered where Sadie was planning to go at this time in the morning. curiously, he began walking around camp looking for her. he spotted her standing on the boat moor smoking a cigarette, looking at the water. He stood beside her and nodded in acknowledgement.

"ya plannin' to go anywhere, Mrs. Adler?" he questioned, side-glancing at her. she chuckled and shook her head.

"nah, just wanted to get bob ready in case I do want to go anywhere, what 'bout you, Mr. Morgan? you seem to be eager to leave." he smiled and looked out. 

"yeah, I plan to head down near strawberry for a couple things. gon' be gone a right few days." Sadie was silent for a moment before asking; "can I come?" Arthur thought about it. it _would_ be nice to have company, and Sadie was easy to get along with. for him, at least. he smiled warmly at her, and nodded. they walked over to the horses, things already packed, and mounted up and kicked the horses on and out of the swampy marshes.

as they rode, Arthur filled her in on his intentions, and where the mot likely place was to find the fox trotter. she agreed with all of his plans, and even seemed excited as he mentioned the bounty hunting. she was one for the hunt, he had to give her that. the horses trudged on as they took a detour past Rhodes (for obvious reasons) and sped down tracks as the afternoon grew close. they stopped for a lunch break along the way near a small body of water.

They rode through valentine, the bloodbath that Arthur participated in thankfully forgotten. They purchased some food and supplies before heading out on the road again. Small talk was made between Arthur and Sadie, mostly just to ask questions or fill kn in the time. After a few days of long riding, they passed underneath the wooden sign that read: "strawberry" in bold letters.

They headed to the sheriff's first, and the lazy arses were more than happy to hand some work to others. The bounty they had picked up was this man called Mr. Doyle, suspected to be in the mountains, who had stupidly robbed a bank and store without a mask. Arthur chuckled and handed it to Sadie, who also had a laugh at the man. They looked at each other for confirmation before steering the horses up into the forests. 


	3. Bounty on Your Head

Arthur rode through the dense forest, Sadie hot on his heels. The bounty poster in his pocket had said that Martin Doyle was somewhere around here. The price on him was quite good from the money he stole.

Then, Arthur saw Sadie ride up to his side and nudge him. She pointed at a plume of smoke coming from a bit off the path. They both knew that Doyle wasn’t the brightest, so this wasn’t something that they wouldn’t put past him. they kicked the horses on near the smoke, Arthur’s nag shook its head angrily and letting a small kick out. Arthur tightened his grip on the reigns and urged it forward to follow Bob.

Beside a campfire, a faded white tent was pitched, with bags and random items were strewn about. Arthur saw a good heap of money and valuables in one. Stolen goods, no doubt. A scraggly man was sitting with his back to them. Doyle, Arthur presumed. He drew out his trusty schofield, which he took from some O’Driscoll bastards in the backroom of the valentine doctors. He saw Sadie drawing a revolver too, and they both dismounted silently and closed in on Doyle. The man was clearly oblivious, grounding some herbs into cooking meat. Sadie raised her revolver and pressed it into the back of the man’s head. He jumped a bit, and Arthur took this silence to say,  
“Mr Doyle, you’re comin’ with us for armed robbery in strawberry.” The man remained silent, still. Then he chuckled nervously.   
“I aint Mr Doyle, sir. I’m Davey Jefferson.” Arthur didn’t believe one word of that.

Then, Arthur heard rustling behind him. he wheeled around to see a man bolting to his and Sadie’s horses, hop on bob, and gallop away.   
“Go, Martin! Don’t stop!” the man at the end of Sadie’s revolver. Without a word, Sadie shot the man before Arthur grabbed her arm and ran to his nag. They hopped on, Naggy protesting about the extra weight, before running after bob. They could see him a fair distance ahead, and Arthur’s nag couldn’t get up to that speed.

Almost like a godsend, a train was rushing near them. A quick calculation told Arthur that their man would either get blocked, hit, or let on through by it. All this while, Sadie was shooting a rifle over his shoulder. With the bucky movements of Naggy, her shots were going everywhere.

With the train gaining, Doyle was getting closer. A bullet hit Bob’s saddle, scoring Doyle’s foot and snapping the saddle girth. Doyle yelled in pain and alarm when the saddle slipped violently. He pulled the reigns hard, making Bob veer. A few moments later, the train blasted past. Doyle fell roughly onto the ground. Bob took off, reigns dangling, in the direction of where the train came, up into the foresty hills towards the mountains. Arthur and Sadie dismounted and hogtied Doyle and put him on the back of the sweaty nag. Sadie looked over at Arthur.

“Hey, Arthur, how we goin’ to get back, since bob probably aint ever back, and there’s three of us?”. Shit. What were they going to do? He thought he saw another horse tied a bit away at Doyle’s camp.   
“Alight, hop on the nag. Pretty sure there’s another horse at the camp. Wouldn’t mind grabbin’ some of that money neither.” Sadie argued a bit at her being on the nag instead of Arthur, but hopped on anyways. Arthur grabbed the nags’ headcollar and started walking back towards the forest.

Arthur had been right, for a black and white stallion was tied to a tree near the camp. He gave it to Sadie, who said that she would sell him in the stables and get a new one. Arthur wouldn’t mind selling the nag and getting a new horse either. They spent the next few minutes looting the camp. They found bits of food, like crackers and tobacco, and a few more random things. The main prize was the bag of valuables. Worth around $1,400. They decided to take 500 each and hand the rest into the sheriff, saying some bullshit story that Doyle had spent the rest. Arthur and Sadie mounted the horses and rode off into strawberry.

Sadie led the way into the sheriffs’ office, Doyle slung over Arthur’s shoulder. The sheriff nodded gratefully, and opened a cell door. His friend gave them an fair 25 dollars each. Sadie gave him the non-stolen part of the money, which they happily accepted. Arthur bid goodbye and left with Sadie.

Arthur thought the fat nag was near the brink of collapsing by the time they reached the stables. He dismounted and led it through the large wooden door. A young stable-boy ran up to them, smiling welcomely.   
“Hello there, watcha need?” Arthur gestured to the two horses he and Sadie had led in.  
“Lookin’ to sell these two, an’ buy different ones.” The stable hand nodded, took the horses, and calculated their price. He got $64 for his nag, and Sadie got $70 for hers. They looked through the nice range of horses. Both of them had a very good cash amount, and could afford every horse there.

Sadie decided on a beautiful Friesian mare, 16hands tall, black as night. It had a pleasant temperament, and a good build.

Arthur spent a bit longer looking for a horse, but one stallion caught his attention. The look in its eyes drew Arthur in, and he looked at it thoughtfully. It was a bay-coloured, 16hand tall Belgian half-blood. He was stunning, and held his head in a majestic, self-respecting way. Arthur liked its spirit immediately, and decided to take him. he was a fairly hefty price, 900 out of his wallet. But by his standards, a good horse was worth it all. He put his good saddle on him, gave him a brush, and mounted. The horse felt _right_ , for some reason. Him and Sadie trotted out and around the barn, getting a feel for the horses. Sadie’s horse had a gorgeous gait to it, and Arthurs stallion was elegant and prideful on its movements, but still keeping a strong-held stance. For some reason, it reminded Arthur of a soldier.

“Hey Arthur, I think I’m gonna call this lady Diamond. Watcha think?” he nodded, approving of the name. He was silent for a moment, before saying, “Trooper. I think that’s a good name for this boah”. Sadie nodded. And with that, they rode back into strawberry. Arthur wanted to do a bit of shopping.

He tied Trooper to the stand and gave him an affectionate pat with a sugar cube. Arthur might get some treat for this good boy in the store. Sadie, once again, led the way into the general store. Arthur had a craving for sweets, and knew that this store stocked chocolate Shersey’s. he grabbed a few bars, along with some provisions for trips, as well as some apples and sugar for Trooper. He say Sadie get some things, but not what they were. They left soon after, heading to the gun-store. Arthur gave the gunsmith his prized schofield and Lancaster for customization. He got gold and ivory highlights on both, as well as better barrels, and carvings in the grips. He also purchased some bullets and got his shotgun cleaned. With that, and Sadie buying a new repeater, they left and began the long journey back to camp. 


	4. The Mayors' Party

Arthur and Sadie rode into camp, nodding to Lenny, who was guarding. He dismounted off Trooper and handed the reigns to Kieran, who admired him and Diamond fondly before taking them to untack and feed them. Arthur, even if he was tired, needed to head to Dutch and Hosea to see what was up. When he went over, Arthur could hear someone raving on.

“……. I’m telling you Hosea; this party seems like an amazing opportunity! You, me, and maybe a few others! We ride in, all fancy-like and blending in with all those rich folk. It’ll be the perfect place for information!” Dutch was enthusiastic and waving his hands around. Hosea was watching him, about to speak before he saw Arthur.   
“Ah, welcome back, Arthur. How are you? Me and Dutch were just going over something. Angelo Bronte invited us to a garden party at the mayor’s. What do ya think?” it seemed a good enough plan to Arthur, even if the sound of Bronte making arrangements made Arthur doubtful. Worth a look at, at least.   
“Who ya thinkin’ of bringing?” he asked, looking in between Dutch and Hosea. Dutch smiled, his magnificent moustache curling upwards. “Well, my boy, we were hoping you would come with me and Hosea. We want someone else, but haven’t thought of anyone yet. Maybe Bill.” Arthur folded his arms up. He thought Bill wouldn’t be the best on this mission, though. He may be good for intimidation, but wasn’t that smart, or charming. For some reason, his mind went to Sadie.

“I'm fine to go, but I don’t think Bill is. Watcha think ‘bout Sadie?” Dutch looked confused for a moment, then looked like his mind was working every detail out.   
“Hmm... that’s not a bad idea. But, to blend in, she’ll have to wear a dress and pretend to be someone’s date.”  
“I’ll go get her.” Arthur declared. He’d let her decide. She was over by the girls’ tent, talking to Tilly. She spotted Arthur come over and politely excused herself to Tilly.   
“Hey, Arthur. What’s up?”   
“Wanted to know if ya wanted to come on a job with me, Dutch and Hosea. It’s a fancy garden party. Dutch thinks there’ll be good info there. Bronte invited us as guests.” Sadie looked intrigued at this. “But…..there’s a catch. You’ll have to wear a dress an’ go as a date.” Her expression fell slightly. “Alight, then. Lets go talk to Dutch and Hosea about it.”

Hosea and Dutch hopped out of the wagon speedily. Arthur also got out, but waited to give Sadie a hand out. She took it and gave a whispered thanks. Arthur waved to Lenny/Ynnel, who was driving. He smiled at Arthur and whipped the reigns. The horses ran forward, hooves clicking on the stoned cobble streets. He turned back towards the waiting Dutch, Hosea and Sadie. The man waiting at the gate bowed to them, asked for their names, and then asked for their weapons. Sadie and Hosea didn’t have any guns on them anyway. Arthur and Dutch handed in their revolvers, and they walked in. Sadie went to Arthur’s side, and he held her arm.

They followed a servant up the stairs to Bronte. He was there, drinking wine and laughing with other posh little shits. Arthur held that in himself. Dutch and Bronte exchanged greetings. Bronte seemed to like to hear himself talk. He pointed to people down below, making comments on them as he felt. Arthur liked this guy as much as he liked Micah. After Bronte’s private introduction, they headed downstairs to talk to others.   
“Now remember, no pickpocketing, be subtle, and get some information on any good scores we can get.”

They split up and headed for different groups. Arthur went to one, where a highly drunk man was shouting at the mayor. Arthur greeted them quickly, before grabbing the man from the back of the neck and pulled him over towards the small docks. Arthur forced him down and told him to count to a thousand. Then, he went back over to the mayor, who thanked him. they talked in a group for a while, Arthur trying to get some info. Apparently, a rich couple went on a holiday, and wouldn’t be back for a few months. And, from what he gathered, it was a pretty secluded, hidden-behind-bushes house.

Fireworks blasted in the sky in front of them, lighting up the smoggy sky in bright blues and pinks. Arthur had to admit; it was rather pretty. The mayor was then led away by a servant saying something about Leviticus Cornwall. Arthur inched over, trying to catch more of their conversation.

Arthur snuck into the mayors study and opened a drawer on the desk. He flicked through the papers, until he found a few important pieces. For him, at least, he got to good leads to follow. Now, to head back to Dutch, Hosea and Sadie.

They were standing in the house foyer, chatting quietly. Seems Sadie and Hosea didn’t get anything, but Dutch talked to Bronte again, and he told him to rob a trolley station. Arthur told them about the Cornwall conversation and the vacationed house. With all the info they got, they collected their guns off the servant, said hello to Lenny, and hopped on the wagon and rode off.


End file.
